During his pregame speech Sunday before Game 1 of the MLS Eastern Conference semifinal series against the New York Red Bulls, Impact coach Mauro Biello spoke to his players about their 4-2 win three days earlier against D.C. United in Washington.

Biello talked not about how his players scored the four goals during the first round, knockout stage of the playoffs, but how they celebrated afterward.

“They all celebrated together,” Biello said after the Impact stunned the New York Red Bulls with a 1-0 victory in front of 15,027 fans on a chilly Sunday afternoon at Saputo Stadium. “And to me, that’s a bond and it was something very strong. And it gives a feeling of security, it gives a feeling of confidence. And when you have that you become powerful. And that was the message I gave my team and right now they’re showing that. They’re showing that they’re a unit and that they’re going to do everything to win.”

That unit no longer includes Didier Drogba, who was left out of the 18-man game roster for the fourth straight time after refusing to play in the final regular-season home game after being told by Biello he wouldn’t be in the starting 11. Drogba hasn’t had a full practice with the club since then, saying he has a sore back.

The Impact doesn’t need Drogba now, although he was in the locker room after the game in street clothes. They have Matteo Mancosu.

Mancosu, who took Drogba’s spot in the lineup, scored his third goal in two playoff games in the 61st minute Sunday, using his blazing speed to chase down a beautiful long ball from Marco Donadel and blast a right-footed shot high to the short side to beat goalkeeper Luis Robles.

The goal was enough to hand the Red Bulls their first loss in MLS play since July 3, ending a 16-game unbeaten streak (9-0-7). Game 2 of the two-game, aggregate-goals series will be next Sunday in New York. Road goals are used as the tie-breaker if needed after two games, so the fact the Impact didn’t give up a goal at home is huge.

Impact’s Matteo Mancosu, left, celebrates with teammate Dominic Oduro after scoring against the New York Red Bulls in Montreal on Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016.Graham Hughes /
THE CANADIAN PRESS

Goalkeeper Evan Bush made three saves for the shutout, including a diving stop in the 90th minute. But the star of this game was Mancosu, a player Impact fans are getting to know on the field, but probably still know little about off it. The 5-foot-10, 165-pound forward came to Montreal on July 7 on loan from Italian club FC Bologna.

“He’s a good guy,” Bush said. “The language barrier’s a bit difficult to really get to know a guy too well. But he’s a polite person, he’s a great guy in the locker room and we’re certainly happy to have him and, hopefully, he can continue the form he’s in.

“The goal he scored was fantastic, world-class.”

Yes, it was.

Impact captain Patrice Bernier speaks a bit of Italian so he can communicate more with Mancosu than Bush. But Bernier said words aren’t the most important thing.

“On the field, I hope he understands what I’m saying,” Bernier said with a smile. “I try to guide him, but he understands English, too. But on the field, you speak with your feet first … there’s so many languages on this team.

“In football, you integrate faster by your performance,” Bernier added. “Your performance speaks loud and that’s what you want. Words, they mean something, but actions mean a lot more. Every time he’s played he’s brought something, coming from the bench or starting. He’s a quiet guy, but he speaks loudly when he plays.”

Indeed.

But words are almost as powerful as actions for a coach and Biello definitely has his team listening to him. The coach stuck with the same starting 11 he used in Washington on only two days of rest and they put on an impressive performance for him. The Impact battled for the full 90 minutes against a powerhouse team that finished first in the Eastern Conference and includes Bradley Wright-Phillips, the leading scorer in MLS during the regular season with 24 goals, and midfielder Sacha Kljestan, who had a league-high 20 assists. The Impact limited Wright-Phillips to two shots, none on target, thanks in large part to an outstanding game by defender Laurent Ciman and a solid performance by the entire back line.

“I think the team is coming together in terms of their responsibilities on the field, their roles,” Biello said. “There’s so much fight in them.”

Bernier grew up in Brossard, on the South Shore of Montreal, and knows more about the history of the Impact in this city than any other player on the team. At age 37, the midfielder also realizes there aren’t many opportunities left for him to win a championship in his hometown.

“I know when I’m in the starting lineup I have the influence,” the captain said. “I know what I can give. Yeah, you’re older, but you know the game. You’re older physically, maybe things change, but mentally things change, too. You see the game a lot faster than most.

“I’m just happy to be here, happy to contribute,” he added. “This is home and I said from the get-go when I came here it’s on the field that I speak. And I stayed because I knew that there was something to be done. We have another game, it’s not finished and I’m not done yet.”

During his post-game news conference Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch mentioned several times it’s “only halftime” in the two-game series and the former Impact coach is absolutely correct. The Red Bulls had a league-best 13-2-2 record at home this season, so the Impact still has a huge challenge in front of them.

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